Month: February 2018

A Master Falconer\’s Extraordinary Life with Birds of Prey
by Nancy Cowan

The more I read about falconry, the more it fascinates me. This was one of those books that engaged me so much, I just couldn\’t read it fast enough. The author and her husband keep and fly birds of prey. Through this book Cowan shares many of her experiences with a variety of hawks and falcons. I learned so much about them. How they are raised, trained, rehabilitated, the differences between flying a hawk and a falcon. It was also really interesting to me how dinstinctly the birds behaved towards people according to their origins- those that were caught from the wild, born in captivity but hand-reared by humans, bred and raised by their own parents, or older trained birds transferred to a new handler, all so different. Each bird had its individual traits which required close observation and fine-tuned response by the handler. Cowan explains the birds are not pets but hunting partners. Some of them they hunt in partnership with bird dogs, that was really cool to read about. She and her husband worked for over a year with legislation to establish falconry as a legal sport in New Hampshire when they moved there, so they could fly their birds. Later she worked again through a lot of legal forms to apply for a rehabilitation license, to take in an injured bird of prey that would benefit from being flown by a falconer. She and her husband established a school of falconry, and spent many hours as volunteers conducting demonstrations and outreach programs to teach children and the public about the birds. So many stories, so many details. One very interesting chapter about efforts to relocate peregrine chicks to a new nest site that was safer (the parent birds had laid their eggs on a very narrow skyscraper window ledge). Sometimes close calls and near-accidents; injuries, lost birds, occasionally death. But the thrills and fierce joy all worth it. If I ever have chance to observe a flight demonstration again, I will watch more closely to see if I can note some of the behaviors and responses described to me in this book. I\’d hope to understand a little better what I see, from what I have read of others\’ understanding.

Borrowed from the public library.

Rating: 4/5         265 pages, 2016

by Jack Kramer

Like any other book on plants, this one goes over the basics of selecting healthy plants, situating them in the correct location in your home, general care in terms of feeding, watering, pest and disease control (non-toxic methods emphasized), very basic soil mixes and propagation. There\’s also an entire chapter about how to choose plants that look nice in the room- complementing decor and using design principles. A lot of it was repetitive information for me, but I did appreciate the diagrams on how to hang plants with proper support, and how to build a simple rack for grow lights. The second half of the book is species profiles, arranged by families (I didn\’t know that my foxtail fern is in the lily family! or that coleus are also called \”painted nettle\”). I was hoping to find some specific instructions on a few plants I\’ve struggled with- but the info here was very general. The best I can figure is that my boston fern simply needs repotting with fresh soil every season. This book says that orchids are easy, but I\’ve killed every one I had. In one case I found a picture that seemed mislabeled. African violets were on the same spread; this picture looks just like another kind of African violet to me.

And my mother used to grow primroses, they have different kind of leaves. Which makes me wonder if there are more errors. Because I was happy to learn the names of many common foliage houseplants I see all the time- but now I don\’t know if they\’re all accurate in here. For example, this photo looks just like a plant my daughter recently bought (sans flowers), which was only labeled as \”foliage plant\” so I didn\’t know its name. I look up Medinilla and I think it\’s the same plant but she\’s doubtful.

I do have to say, the photographs in here are all excellent quality. Very nice-looking lush plants, quite a few I\’d like to add to my own collection now. I found this book at a library discard sale.

Rating: 3/5         192  pages, 1999

 -at my public library-
Alone on the Ice by David Roberts- Caroline Bookbinder
Secret of Nightingale Wood by Lucy Strange – Bookfool
The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui – Bermudaonion’s Weblog
The Butchering Art by Lindsay Fitzharris- Caroline Bookbinder
Starfish by Akemi Bowman- Reading the End
World Without Mind by Franklin Foer- Across the Page
Dear Farenheit 451 by Annie Spence- Musings of a Bookish Kitty
Spinning by Tillie Walden from Caroline Bookbinder
Spliced by Jonathan McGoran- Melody’s Reading Corner
Quackery by Lydia Kang- Bookfool
The Life of Buzzards by P.J. Dare
Mindblind by Jennifer Roy- James Reads Books
What Made Maddy Run by Kate Fagan- Bermudaonion’s Weblog
A Sting in the Tale by Dave Goulson
A Buzz in the Meadow by Dave Goulson
The Shuttle by Frances Hodgson Burnett- Shelf Love
Mini Aquariums by David Boruchowitz
Browsings by Michael Dirda- Captive Reader
Rescue Road by Peter Zheutlin
The Life of Mammals by David Attenborough
The Possibility Dogs by Susannah Charleson
The Arrangement by Sarah Dunn- Melody’s Reading Corner
Wild Bird by Wendelin van Draanen – It’s All About Books
The Most Perfect Thing by Tim Birkhead
Achtung Baby by Sarah Zaske- Caroline Bookbinder
The Daily Coyote by Shreve Stockton
One Wild Bird at a Time by Bernd Heinrich
Wallace by Jim Gorant
A False Report by Christian Miller- Bermudaonion’s Weblog
Crows: Encounters with the Wise Guys by Candace Savage- Indextrious Reader

-not at the library-
Anna by Niccolò Ammaniti- Farm Lane Books Blog
Portage by Sue Leaf- Sophisticated Dorkiness
MIS(H)ADRA by Iasmin Omar Ata- Bermudaonion’s Weblog
The Breathless Zoo by Rachel Poliquin
It’s Just Nerves by Kelly Davio- Diary of an Eccentric
Heirs of Columbus by Gerald Vizenor- Shelf Love
More Was Lost by Eleanor Perenyi – Bookfool
Multiple Choice by Janet Tasjian- James Reads Books
Woolgrower’s Companion by Joy Rhoades- A Work in Progress
Dogs of War by Adrian Tchaikovsky- Thistle-Chaser
Walkabout by James Vance Marshall- Bookfool
Boy at the End of the World by Greg van Eekhout- Thistle-Chaser
The Rat by G. M. A. Hewett- Neglected Books Page
Houseplants by Lisa Eldred Steinkopf- Commonweeder
They Never Talk Back by Henry Trefflich
Saber-Tooth by Lou Cadle- Thistle-Chaser
I Loved Rogues by George “Slim” Lewis
Bring ‘Em Back Alive by Frank Buck
Wild Tigers and Tame Fleas by Bill Ballantine
Roam Alone edited by Jennifer Barclay and Hilary Bradt- Captive Reader

How One Extraordinary Elephant Escaped the Big Top
by Carol Bradley

This book is about how circus elephants have suffered, and the development of a few sanctuaries that seek to give some of them a \’retirement\’ where they can live in a relatively natural setting for the end of their lives. I thought by the title of this book, it was about one particular elephant. It actually has a much wider span, and in some chapters Billie isn\’t mentioned at all. The book tells about the early rise of popularity elephants had in circuses, being shown and forced to perform often from a very young age. Lots of circuses vied to be known as having the smallest elephant, so infants were taken from their mothers sometimes just a few weeks old, to be shown off in the ring. Often forced to do tricks. The rest of the time usually chained in one spot. Needless to say, the book has a lot of details on animal neglect and abuse, on the emotional damage that elephants appear to suffer when being mistreated for such long periods of time. Many of them end up emotionally unstable with unpredictable behvior.

The book chronicles how circuses fared over the past decades, pressure to travel frequently with long hours on the road, to have the most impressive shows with the newest tricks, to show the most exotic or spectacular things in order to draw in crowds- and how all this was deleterious for the animals. It is a long list of disasters that happen when elephants strike out in torment or rage, and terribly sad stories of those who died from illness or being kept in poor conditions. To be fair, the book quotes many circus performers and trainers who claimed their methods were the only way to keep elephants in control, who said that circus animals experienced more stimulation having things to learn, compared to zoo elephants that just stood around all day. Lots of court cases brought against circus owners and trainers for animal abuse are cited- those details sometimes made my head swim. In the end, there is a very positive note when the chapters start describing how a number of elephants were taken from the circus (or in a few cases, a zoo that couldn\’t keep them properly) and placed in sanctuaries. How the sanctuaries worked to give the elephants space to engage in normal behavior and proper medical care. Some of them were not curable. Some took years to overcome their fears and violent tendencies. Very touching is the final scene where Billie finally allowed a caretaker to approach close enough to cut off the chain that had remained around her ankle for so long.

A lot of the details in this book were not new to me, having read other titles about the subject before. But the countless stories of baby elephants forcibly separated from their mothers, of adults dying at a relatively young age after years of being beaten, starved, suffering from wounds and infected feet- well it can be very hard to read. There is a lot of death in this book. Not just elephants. People killed by them. Tigers and other exotic animals that also suffered in the circus. And yet some trainers say they did their best by the animals. I can\’t buy that line anymore.

Borrowed from the public library.

Rating: 3/5          320 pages, 2014

The Smithsonian Animal World
senior editor Russell Bourne

It starts with a narrative story- curiously, the only section of the entire book illustrated with pen-and-ink drawings, the rest has photographs. The opening chapter tells of efforts to breed an orangutan at the zoo, the decision keepers made to separate the orang infant from its mother when it developed an infection, and the anxious period spent trying to save its life with veterinary care that was rudimentary compared to technology of today. The rest of the book is more general in nature. Chapter subjects vary: a history of zoos in general, from menageries kept by royalty in the past to the beginnings of modern zoos, in particular the National Zoo, and its connection with the Smithsonian Institution. How the zoo manages its space and visitors, the balance between scientific inquiry and pleasing the public (whose entry fees contribute a lot to funding things), keeping the animals healthy, making enclosures more natural for them, managing breeding operations and gene pools between zoos. The role the zoo has in maintaining species populations- in particular a large breeding ranch it has in Virginia (not open to the public) and advancements that have been made there in breeding rare birds, ungulates and golden marmosets. Conservation, animal husbandry and scientific inquiry seem to be the main three points.

There\’s also a chapter in the back about studies in the field done by Smithsonian scientists on Asiatic elephants, red howler monkeys, tigers, chipmunks and the tenrec. There\’s mention of how every single animal that dies in a zoo is autopsied, and what zoo scientists learn from that. Discussion of how local wildlife that enters the zoo (piegons, rats, raccoons,domestic cats, etc) is managed- particularly because of diseases they might introduce to the exotics. Final two chapters highlight numerous other zoos in the country and around the world, pointing out significant advancements or special collections they each have.

I have another book called New Zoo published some ten years after this one, and it\’s about the very same zoo. I guess it\’s not surprising as I live relatively close to the National Zoo, that these two titles were among discard copies I picked up somewhere.

Rating: 3/5            192 pages, 1979

by Dr. Herbert R. Axelrod

There are some cases where an old book just shouldn\’t be around anymore. For once I am really disappointed in one I picked up on swap at whim, and I\’m going to recycle it instead of sending out into the world again. In the first place, this isn\’t really a book. More of a pamphlet. I should have noticed the page count.

In the second place, it\’s old and outdated enough that some of the instructions, if followed, I\’d consider bad advice and poor husbandry practice. It does tell a bit about common, easy plants- elodea, ludwigia, camboba, amazon swords, cryptocoryne, milfoil- but the way this puplication suggests growing them- well, there are much better methods nowadays. I have to say though, the small black-and-white photo of a tank full of crypts, vals and stems is impressive in its plant density. It would look really lush in color. The fishes mentioned are guppies, mollies, swordtails, platies, zebra danios, black tetra, angelfish, betta, pearl danio, firemouth cichlids, corydoras. That\’s it. Something in one of the fish descriptions made me laugh, but now I can\’t remember what it was. The details on their keeping is basic at best. I have much better books in terms of fish selection and disease treatment. And when it comes to an interesting look at how things used to be done, or quaint but quality photographs, this little publication just doesn\’t do it either. Sorry! Bye.

Rating: 1/5          32 pages, 1970

by Jan Louch with Lisa Rogak

Subtitle: the Library Cats Who Left Their Pawprints on a Small Town and the World. I had never heard of Baker and Taylor before, a pair of library cats who became famous (before Dewey). The author, Jan Louch, was recovering from a sudden divorce, having just moved with her two children to a new town to live with her parents. Her love of books carried her through many difficult times. She ended up getting a job at the small local library. When a new building was constructed on what used to be an alfalfa field, she and the library director decided they needed a cat to keep out the mice. After a lot of research she acquired Baker, a scottish fold- the breed was very exotic at the time, and known for their calm, mellow temperament. She named the cat Baker because he liked to sleep in boxes from the library wholesale distributor, Baker & Taylor. Jan really wanted to get a second cat, but it would be a long time to save up for one (all money spent on the cats\’ upkeep was personal). She mentioned the cat and her plans to someone from the wholesale company, and he offered to buy the library a second cat, if in return the company could photograph the cats for use in promotional materials. The second scottish fold was of course, named Taylor. When the first poster of the two cats came out, it was immediately popular with librarians around the country. The cats were featured on tote bags, in calendars, and even in a mystery novel written by Carole Douglas.

The cats were very popular with most library visitors. Jan shares how they touched the lives of herself and several individual patrons in particular. It\’s also story about a small town library went through growing pains- the immense amount of work it took to switch over from card catalogs to computers- different challenges the library faced in serving the public over the years as local population grew. It\’s pretty interesting to read how the fame of the two cats spread in a day and age when social media didn\’t exist yet. The author saw many fans and tourists come visiting the library just to see Baker and Taylor. She struck up a correspondence with an elementary school teacher whose students formed a fan club, writing to the cats. She helped set up a society among librarians whose libraries also kept cats. It was amusing to read how the cats loved (mostly) the attention from people, but hated their occasional photo shoots. There\’s a lot of endearing stories in here about the cats\’ individual personalities and habits.

When they grew elderly and passed away, the cats were missed by many; trees were planted outside the library in their memory. Lots of people kept asking when the library would get new cats, but unfortunately due to some complaints by patrons with severe allergies, the library board voted against them acquiring another cat.

Through the whole book, I really enjoyed how the author\’s love of books and reading was expressed. She worried near the end, that computers would make librarians\’ jobs obsolete- people could do their own research online and use self-checkout stations instead of the circulation desk. I\’m glad to note that our libraries are still alive and kicking.

Borrowed from the public library.

Rating: 3/5             274 pages, 2016

more opinions:
Lesa\’s Book Critiques
The Conscious Cat

A Calvin and Hobbes Collection 
by Bill Watterson

Six-year-old Calvin is pretty much a self-centered, lazy, conceited brat of a kid. With violent tendencies. So why does he crack me up so much. I think I enjoyed this volume a little better than the last one, because it had quite a few little story arcs through several strips in a row, presented in sequence. In the last collection it seemed like they were more randomly presented, with gaps. Maybe only favorites were selected for that one? There\’s also a good sense of time- a big chunk of the book is during winter- seems it\’s Calvin\’s favorite season, for the snowball-fight and sledding opportunities. Also he makes some very disturbing \”artistic\” tableaux with snowmen. I think some of the funniest episodes in here are when Calvin turns a cardboard box into a \’duplicator\’ and makes copies of himself. He thinks it will get him out of chores and homework, but their troublemaking gets him into trouble. He has more confrontations with the babysitter. His parents ploys to deal with him are pretty amusing too- mom telling him dinner is made of bug parts so he\’ll want to eat it, for example. His dad\’s made-up explanations for scientific things- just messing with the kid- are pretty funny too. And it\’s been so long since I read any of these comics I had completely forgotten a few parts- the one where Calvin and his stuffed tiger play a game of Scrabble made me laugh. I happen to commiserate with his difficulties playing on a baseball team. I was no good at that sport, either.

Rating: 4/5             128 pages, 1991

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All books reviewed on this site are owned by me, or borrowed from the public library. Exceptions are a very occasional review copy sent to me by a publisher or author, as noted. Receiving a book does not influence my opinion or evaluation of it

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